We’re very excited to announce a new Blinc project… TOASTED: Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs.
Check out the Kickstarter campaign which explains it all: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nicholeciotti/toasted-celebrating-female-entrepreneurs
We’d really appreciate your support in helping to celebrate the awesome women. Please contribute and share!
There is also a Girls of Toasted website and Twitter account.
Cheers!
We’re super stoked to unveil the new redesign of nyc PR girls. As friends of both Adrianna + Meg, I’ve really enjoyed watching their brand develop since they first launched about two years ago. nyc PR girls is your ultimate PR guide for breaking into the industry and advancing your career one pitch (and social sitch) at a time.
Brian sketched up a few landmark buildings in NYC along with a few standard ones to create the skyline for their new logo. We wanted to carry over the key elements of their existing brand so their readers could easily identify with the new look and feel. Essentially, we gave the girls a mini facelift sans all the scars and scary stuff.
We added a few other goodies too; including a suite of custom social icons, new functionality, and a fully responsive design. A fully responsive site really enhances the user’s experience no matter what device they’re using. As PR girls on-the-go, it’s no surprise that A + M juggle multiple accounts all from their phone. We wanted to give their readers a clean mobile version so they can get the PR scoop in between meetings, at lunch, or wherever their day may take them.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
-N
Your website is a reflection of you and your brand. You can tell which companies get that just by looking at their site. Unfortunately, a lot of companies are hesitant to invest in hiring an agency to create a new web presence even if they have the financial means to do it. If you’re questioning whether or not you need a new website, you probably do. Here are the Top 10 signs it’s time to upgrade.
1. Your current site doesn’t have social media integration. Without the integration, you’re limiting your customer reach. Making your website shareable is just another way to engage fans, generate leads, and increase brand loyalty.
2. You’re using flash. Websites built with flash have very long load times. In the time it takes to load your site, your potential customer has already started looking for an answer elsewhere. Flash automatically decreases a company’s credibility.
3. You want to strengthen your brand. If your website is more than two years old, it’s time to update it in order to keep up with web design trends and functionality. If it’s more than three years old, it’s time for a complete overhaul. Always make sure to keep things fresh and innovative so customers have a reason to return.
4. Your top competitor just launched a new design. If companies A and B both do the same exact thing, but Company B has an updated website, the masses are going to gravitate toward Company B. Company B now looks more credible. Customers who trust a brand are more likely to buy products over and over again while recommending them to others.
5. You have little to no traffic. A new design will boost traffic and create fresh interactions with your target audience through the use of new tools and interesting functionality.
6. Your site has spelling and grammatical errors. How can you take a company seriously if they can’t distinguish between their, there, and they’re? Content is king.
7. Your messaging is stale. If your messages don’t stick, how will people remember you?
8. You can’t update your own content. If your brand is constantly evolving or you’re introducing new products to your line, you need to share them with your audience. Trying to go through your old web designer is time consuming and costly. Using a content management system like Wordpress is a great way to add pages or edit content when you want, wherever you want.
9. You’re not proud of your site. If you’re embarrassed to share your site with someone or make up excuses for why it looks the way that it does, it’s time for an overhaul. A brand won’t gain a following on LinkedIn or Twitter alone. A website is the starting point.
10. You can’t pull up your website on an iPhone. Responsive design is the art of ensuring your site looks good no matter what device a customer is using. In the age where smartphones never leave our hands, it’s important that customers can access your site on-the-go.
Who’s ready for a new website?
So said advertising legend David Ogilvy. We couldn’t agree more. Good marketing is getting your message across to your audience in as few words as possible. Check out this post on Lists of Note for a quick run down of Ogilvy’s advice, based on an internal company memo.
Also check out The Elements of Style; a timeless short book highlighting the many common mistakes and best practices to improve your writing in no time.
Here are the top 5 pins that rocked my socks the week of July 22!
1. Pinner: Gracie George
What: Boxers never think they’ve grown up.
Source: Tail Wagging Time
This is sure to put a smile on your face no matter what kind of day you’re having. After all, dogs make the greatest friends.
2. Pinner: Rachael Baldwin
What: Cravings Buster
Source: Healthy Girl
Umm, maybe I should have pinned this before I made all those chocolate chip cookies yesterday?? Definitely going to stock up on these snacks my next trip to the grocery store. I always run out of snack ideas so this was perfect. What do you snack on?
3. PInner: Terri Lynn Ciotti
What: Trim Painting Tips
Source: The Family Handyman
This article has awesome tips for repainting chipped, flaking, or dirty moldings so they look like new. DIY projects always seems a little daunting, but this one seems doable.
4. Pinner: Rachael Baldwin
What: Nothing Makes a Person More Productive than the Last Minute
Source: Charlotte Cramer
Could this be any more true? I’ll have three weeks to do something and wait til the day prior to complete it. Big shout out to Starbucks for getting me through some nasty deadlines.
5. Pinner: Natalie Lichtwerch
What: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Source: Lyst
Because telling time and being on time is important.
You can check out other Pinterest goodies on our Blinc account, or my personal one. What’s hot on your Pinterest boards?
-N
